What a difference a day makes

The high today was around 10F.  Yikes!  No riding....

Jumping at Platinum

Went over to Platinum Farm this morning for a jumping lesson.  Lindsey rode Gracie and I rode Pico.  Pico was very good - he figured out that he is there to jump and that he is supposed to canter away from the jump. (Possibly all the canter departs we did this past week helped with that.)  Still stuck with cross rails and low verticals, but he was jumping - both knees up and everything.  I had to give him enough rein and remember not to lean forward.

Lindsey did a good job with Gracie.  There were no refusals, she kept a decent tempo.  Gracie was never particularly round, but I think that might be because I tend to be more forward than Lindsey.  That might be polite for "I crawl up their neck." 

Beautiful morning -- warm and sunny, but of course we came home to darkening skies.  Tomorrow the high is supposed to be in the low 20's and by Tuesday it's supposed to be 10. Ick. Winter is so frustrating!  As soon as I get a good couple of weeks in it goes and gets cold again.  I just can't bear to ride when it's below 25 or so.

Gorgeous Day!

Two beautiful days in a row - naturally I had to work Friday, but I still managed a quick ride on Pico late afternoon.  We worked on bend and transitions - especially the trot canter trot transitions.  It's a lot of work, but he no longer bolts into the canter and sometimes he doesn't fall into it from that trot....

Today I rode Pico again, same agenda, but added in some leg yield.  Canter work was noticeably better.  I would probably have a trot-canter transition if I rode him every day for a couple of weeks.  After arena work I rode up the rode 3/4 mile and back.  He was quite well-behaved.

Dragged out my double for Gracie for the first time ever.  She doesn't seem to mind the extra hardware in her mouth.  I realized I haven't been riding in a snaffle - she wants to ignore it.  The curb has more shank than the pelham I have been using, so she wasn't overly fond of that either.  I really focused on the snaffle... and on watching my seat, no collapsing to the inside and stop looking down, which of course causes the collapse.  The piaffe was okay, extended trot was fantastic.  We worked on picking up whichever lead I asked for anywhere in the arena and that was hard hard hard.

Sore Muscles

Poor Gracie was sore today, so we walked a lot.  First worked on walk squares, then on to half pirouettes.  The piaffe has helped the pirouettes also.  The first 1/4 is fine, but I need to engage the hind end for the second 1/4 or she steps out.  Interestingly they were much easier to the left today rather than to the right. and I tended to fall left instead of right.  Teaching her to step forward instead of throwing her haunches right has helped a lot.

Also worked on the fan exercise at the walk.  I tend to not give the outside rein enough.  As soon as I gave her space to bend her hindquarters become much steadier.

Came home and rode Pico (arena is nice today).  We worked on changing bend, keeping the trot tempo slow and steady, walk trot transitions to help engage his hindquarters, and finally on trot-canter transitions.  Man do I have to work to keep his canter moving with the hindquarters a tiny bit engaged.

Oh and I scooped 3 loads of manure. :^)

Left Seat Bone

Exercise:  Piaffe -- very challenging today.  Weird.

Exercise:  Trot Squares:  Sit up. Lead with inside rein, really ask.  Put inside leg on to catch her.  Don't let the haunches fall right.

Exercise:  Canter Squares:  Challenging, but better.  I have to sit back, lead with my inside rein.  Really ask.  Keep legs on, esp. inside leg.  Prepare -- very collected canter going into the corner.

Exercise:  changing lead through walk on a straight line:  Also challenging, but entirely rider-error.  I had a terrible time moving my left hip forward for the left lead.  I couldn't even move her haunches over to the left because I couldn't get off that seat bone. Yeesh.  Right lead is a piece of cake.

Exercise:  Shoulder in fan down center line.  Absolutely impossible today.  Her hindquarters were all over the place.  Trying to move the shoulders around them was .....  well never happened even in the walk.  I think we fried her brain on the earlier exercises.

Around the loop on Pico looking for the elusive nice trot. Not a lot of work, but at least I sat on him.

Jumping

Headed up to Platinum this morning to jump -- me on Pico and Lindsey on Demi.  (Note - even Rochelle says it's time for Lindsey to ride more than Demi.)  

Pico was awesome, especially considering I hadn't ridden him since last Sunday at Platinum.  He settled down right away and found an okay trot.  Same advice as always -- lots of leg into the jump, lots of leg out of the jump and go straight.  Time to wear spurs so he really does listen to my leg.  Funny that less than a year ago he would leap away from a touch of my leg and now he is perfectly capable of completely ignoring a boot in the side.  We need to spend 20 or 30 minutes every day on dressage -- bend bend bend and light off the leg.  I had a little okay canter today.  It takes so much leg to put him together so the canter isn't just racing around -- much like the trot experience only faster. :^)  So lots of transitions and bendy exercises in our future.

Came home and rode Gracie around the loop.  We worked on half steps and a little tiny bit of half pass.  The ground is pretty hard though, so she wasn't anything that resembled forward.  Still, the half-steps are fun and really are working their way towards piaffe.  I read an interview of Rafael de Soto on piaffe and passage.  He likes piaffe to be confirmed for at least 6 months before moving on to passage. 

Howling wind

It's warmish, but he wind is howling and I really wanted to sit on Pico at least once between monthly jumping lessons.  Sigh.  Not inspired in this though.

Looked around a little more for Pas De Deux music for Jenny and me.  Frances seemed to think we could stretch for a third level freestyle.  That's going to be challenging though!  We need some fun, upbeat music that will get toes tapping and help people miss the errors....

Saw a good first element online - they started head-to-tail with one facing X and the other B.  It was cuter than the standard face-the-judge salute. 

Canter Squares

or how Piaffe will fix everything.

Warm-up, then walked into Piaffe.  My that is easier than trotting into it.  Gracie still wants to throw her haunches right, so to the right is easier (wall).  To left I have to finesse the whip and leg a bit.  She has figured out how to make small corrections though, so doesn't lose her balance.

Started with canter to left - canter "piaffe" then ease out to collected canter, back to very small canter, ease out.  Works when I keep my seat moving -- I can't get to super collection by stiffening.  To move out I just let relax a bit -- can't throw her away or she trots.  Had lovely down transition to walk.  

Then turned the circle into a square with canter piaffe in corners.  Not too bad to left.

Right canter was much more challenging.  I ask for collection, Gracie throws her haunches so far to the right they are practically up by her ears.  My.  Had to put my right leg waaaaay back and seriously on, drop right rein, use left rein to turn.  She really doesn't go counter bent even with no right rein at all.  Very challenging.

(Before trying this in canter we actually did walk squares thinking trot piaffe in the corners.  Very cool.)

Piaffe

Lesson this morning on Gracie with Frances.  Warm-up was 10M circle to shoulder in along long side to 10m circle, across in shoulder-in, 10m circle, should-in, etc.  Gracie needs that to convince her to bend and actually use her stomach muscles.  Once she was warmed u we went directly to piaffe along the wall.  Frances used her long whip on Gracie's hindquarters.   Started out a little pissy, then really moved up to the piaffe.  Next I trotted around the circle then tried to gradually move into piaffe.  That is harder -- it's a lot easier for me to get it from walk than from trot.  Have to move my legs back, click, and sit a little forward all at the same time and all sort of gradually.  

On to canter work -- just a few moments really, but asked for very very collected canter while still maintaining roundness, then jump out to longer canter.  She was great to right and after three tries great to left. 

Back to trot -- to right I can ask her to move her haunches to my whip and we zip right into amazingly good half-pass.  To left she is still confused and I have the worst time ever sitting in the direction of travel.  I fall off to the right.  I start using an indirect left rein.  All wrong and all bad.  No wonder Gracie has trouble!  So..  I need to think about stretching my left side.  That puts my right shoulder back where it belongs and makes it barely possible for me to use my left rein to lead her over.  Her haunches do go over, it's the shoulders I have trouble with and I think the problem is what my left hand is doing. Yeesh.  When I get it together for a few minutes - keep my left thigh on her so she has something to move into and so I am almost sitting on the left instead of falling off the right she does go over.

Jumping at Platinum

Went up to Platinum this morning with Lindsay K to take a jumping lesson.  She rode Gracie and I rode Pico. (Lindsey Joy came with us and rode Demi, but she has a sore neck, so only walked around.)  Started out with poles on the ground.  Goal is to trot along and just ignore the poles, keeping the tempo the same.  The right tempo on Pico is really really slow.  When he slows down he lengthens his stride and begins to engage his hindquarters.  Until then he rushes around with very very short steps, legs going all over the place.  

The poles on the ground turned into cross rails, then cross rails with flowers and pumpkins in front of them, and finally into tiny little verticals.

Big take-away -- I have to put my leg on way before the jump -- like 20 or 30 feet in front of the jump.  I also have to leave my reins long, even when his head pops up. Go to the leg first for steering, then the reins.  If they are spooking (which Pico actually doesn't) the leg on will help them focus on the jump whereas going to the reins focuses them on the reins or the spooky thing and they forget there is a jump.

Long reins, lots of leg, straight after the jump.

It was very fun to watch Lindsay ride Gracie.  Her trot was looking great.  Canter was iffy.  Her jump was fairly nice when Lindsay used a huge amount of leg.  Even at its worst though the upside down deer jump is gone.  She looks like a dressage horse these days, which is kind of cool.

Loopy

Lindsay K came over and we rode around the loop on Gracie and Demi.  I was explaining the piaffe lesson Thursday and reached back to tap Gracie's right hind --- and over it came, right to the whip, just like she learned on Thursday.  So amazing.  

We chatted about how horses learn and how they learn how to learn.  Gracie, who I thought would be tense and easily upset forever has figured it out.  She sometimes doesn't want to work at an exercise, but she no longer gets worried when she doesn't get it right.  (Pissy yes, panicked no).  That's a far cry from Demi who just shuts down if you try something new that she can't do and thinks is too difficult.  She never learned how to learn.

I only hope Pico makes it into the first category of horses.  

(Side note - Filled the stall with hay again Thursday. In theory that will carry them through February and into March.  March 7 should be the last day - 53 days - if they ate a perfect 25 lbs of hay each every day.)

Loop Day

Trotted around the loop on Pico today.  He has moments of suspension. Lots of moments of relaxation.  I just have to figure out how to go back and forth between them. :^)

Rode both horses!

Lesson with Frances on Gracie:

Warm-up:  changes of bend across the arena, small serpentines (about 10m).

Fan Exercise:  Down center-line in shoulder-in right, straighten, change to shoulder-in left.  She should stay forward, on the bit, round, now fishtailing of hindquarters.  That was really difficult two weeks ago, pretty straight-forward today. Go figure.  I need to really ask, not a wishy-washy ask, for the change of bend and remember to give with my new outside hand, so she has room to bend.

On to piaffe:  First we circled with shoulders in and haunches outside, then moved to renvers.  Moved whip to outside, tapped outside haunch to ask for quickened movement while maintaining renvers.  Stay seated to inside, not outside and don't twist shoulders wrong!  Gracie wanted the whip to mean move haunches inside, but really it meant come to the whip and quicken your steps.  When she figured that out and quickened, I asked her to move haunches over. In some magical way that turned into move haunches up underneath herself and piaffe.  Very very cool -- she sat, she moved her hind feet properly, she stayed round, she relaxed as soon as I relaxed.  Frances fed her a treat and of course Gracie will do anything for treats, so it was all downhill from there.  4 or 5 tries later it was only taking her a step or three of "what?" before she moved her hind quarters under her, sat, and gave me the beginnings of true piaffe.  

It amazes me that there is really no tension and she doesn't get stuck at all.  Also that a couple of treats seem to unlock her brain completely.  Nothing is difficult if there is food at the end of it I guess.

Came home and rode Pico also -- not a lot, just saddled him and worked in the snowy arena for half an hour.  Walk and trot serpentines with that change of bend.  He still wants to pop up at the change, but not really as much as Gracie even. :^)  I can shove him forwards now without a small panic attack.  He is so fat and out of shape that half an hour in the snow pretty much did him in.  

I was very pleased with is attitude though.  I think it's been 2 full weeks since he was ridden, but the horse I got on was the same horse I climbed off of after riding 5 or 6 days in a row. No flaky, jumpy, idiot behavior at all.  And I am fairly sure treats are going to be the key to his training as well.  We have a theme going here.....

 

Still Frigid

Actually it was warmer today, so I reblanketed (heavy back to mid-weight) everyone and scooped poop.  That was as close as I got to riding. Last year I rode all through this period....  I was busier though, so clearly both more organized and more inspired.

Started a new scarf instead Mock Mobius Cowl out of a chunky alpaca yarn.  Size 11 needles, so it should knit up quickly.

Purchasing ride time

I picked up a blanket from the repair shop ---  that's as close as I got to a ride today.  I think the high was around 20.

Frigid

So today we proved that I don't even want to walk out to the barn when the high is 14, never mind consider riding.

Went to the Reining freestyle at the stock show yesterday. What they have right:

• bling
• glitter
• fun music
• audience participation
• lots of noise
• costumes
• no bridles for three performers and once no saddle either.

But (you knew there was a but) leg yield was a big hairy deal.  Even my girls thought they ought to go to half pass.  One person had sequences, most had bad single changes.  The slides and spins are fun, but they need more difficulty. 

Dressage people really need to clue into the fun, noisy part though.  Lots of people loved Fuego at the WEG bcz his rider worked the audience (and bcz he is a cool horse of course). 

Time Flies

Spent Monday and Tuesday on a frozen pipe, then Wednesday/Thursday in Glenwood Springs... so here it is Friday and I haven't sat on a horse yet this week.  Urgh.  Working this morning and I have to try to fix the barn this afternoon.  More Urghs.